Published 9/27/2011 6:06:58 PM by Shane Barrow from soccermogul

It was supposed to go better than this for Manchester City in their first Champions League campaign.  They are finding out just how dificult balancing Champions League play along with the EPL season can be.

On Tuesday they fell 2-0 in Germany to a strong Bayern Munich side.  Two late first half goals from Mario Gomez sealed City's fate as Bayern take control of Group .  Manchester put up a good fight for half an hour and looked capable of getting a result.  That is until Gomez made his mark via the help of the talented Ribery.

The French winger has destroyed plenty of teams down the years and now it was the turn of Mancini's men to feel the heat.  Ribery sped past Gareth Barry before setting up Thomas Muller, but his effort flew over.

Muller then turned provider as City tried to play a woeful offside. Again they escaped as Bastian Schweinsteiger failed to find his range.  The Blues were in trouble though and it was no surprise Bayern scored on their next attack. No surprise either Ribery was the architect, lashing another fierce shot goalwards that City goalkeeper Joe Hart could not hold. Somehow, Hart prevented Muller tucking home the rebound. But he could not stop Gomez making it third-time lucky as he finished from close range.

It could have been even worse of not for the heroics of City keeper Joe Hart who made several important interventions in the final half.  The win leaves Bayern Munich atop the Group A standings on a perfect six points.  Napoli trails by two points with a win and draw while Manchester City are in a bit of trouble with only a single point to show from their two matches.

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